In a notice Wednesday, the Xi’an Jiaotong University in the capital city of Shaanxi province said students will no longer need to pass a nationwide standardized English test – nor any other English exams – to be able to graduate with bachelor’s degrees.
But in recent years, some universities have downgraded the importance of English, either by replacing the national College English Test with their own exams or – as in the case of the Xi’an Jiaotong University – dropping English qualifications altogether as a graduation criteria.
For some liberal-leaning Chinese, the downgrade of English is symbolic of China’s inward turn and a tightening of ideological control.
“We need English to understand the world.
These days, if you don’t understand English, you’ll still fall behind in the scientific and technological world,” a Weibo user said.
Persons:
Xi Jinping, ”, Mao, Xi, it’s, Weibo, don’t, you’ll
Organizations:
Hong Kong CNN, Jiaotong University, English, College English, Jiaotong, Weibo, World Trade Organization
Locations:
China, Hong Kong, Shaanxi, Weibo, Shanghai, Taiwan